The Movies, The Madman and Me - Part Three
by Mirabella Santina
Summary: The third and final part of my three part mystery/humor story... who will get out of the house alive?


chapter 24 (Carla) After we'd all gotten comfortable in the library and Jane had managed to evade Marie's grasp until her fury had leveled off, we got down to business. "Okay, first things first - what have we learned so far?" Jane looked around at us expectantly. "I found these two extra keys," Dee quickly volunteered and read aloud the note she'd found with them. "Sounds like we all need to be together to find the treasure, and we all need our keys to do it," Jane said when Dee was finished. "Oh!" We all turned to stare at Marie, who was sitting by herself in the farthest corner of the room. "I don't have my key," she said unhappily. "I lost it during all the confusion." "Which confusion was that? The confusion involving the man in black or the confusion involving all of you guys trying to kill each other in the dark?" Ben asked. "The first thing you said - I dropped it when he was chasing me." Marie sat back and stared morosely at the ceiling. "Hey, wait - we found a key, remember, Jeff?" I dug into the pocket of my jeans and held out two keys. "See? We found it in Lucia's room." "We didn't lose our key," Lucia looked confused. "Did anyone else go into Lucia's room?" Paul asked. Everyone looked blankly at everyone else. "I guess that's a no," I said. "We only went in because we heard something in the hallway and then we heard noise coming from the room that turned out to be Marie calling for help." "What if the man in black went into that room for some reason and dropped Marie's key there by mistake?" Jane said thoughtfully. It was quiet for a moment as everyone thought that over. "I guess that means there are still some secret doors we don't know about," Ben finally said. "That doesn't make me feel any safer. Do we even know for sure if this guy is a part of the game or not?" Skylar asked. "My guess would be no," Josh spoke up again. "I don't see how it could be part of a game to assault people with a deadly weapon and later use it to knock someone out." "And he can say that from personal experience," Ben nodded wisely and Jane tossed a pillow at him. "Lay off the poor guy. He's been through enough for one weird night." She relaxed into a leather armchair and stretched her long legs out in front of her. "All right, so we don't think our masked intruder is part of the game. That means we have a wild card somewhere in this house. At the moment, we're safe - but only for the moment." She sat up again, her green eyes suddenly brighter. "You know what Ben and I noticed? Uncle Marlon has tons and tons of movie books and scripts. And Josh figured out that at least one of the rooms has a sort of revolving duplicate right out of that old movie, 'Murder by Death.'" "Yeah - and the dining room and kitchen were designed to look just like the sets in the movie, 'Clue,'" Skylar pointed out. "We found all kinds of old movie props and furniture and things in the so-called 'miscellaneous' room, not the least of which was the painting from the movie 'Laura' and the old clock with the gun in it," Lucia said excitedly. "What old clock with what gun?" Lance was confused. "I'll explain later," Skylar told him. "Don't forget the wax museum," Paul reminded Lucia. "We found a secret door that led to a sort of private wax museum of all kinds of famous stars and movie characters." "The underground lake and boat were both right out of 'Phantom of the Opera', and Josh pointed out that the dungeons and the medieval dining room they led to looked like something from 'Ivanhoe'," Marie's words tumbled over each other in her excitement. "I think we definitely have a theme here," Jane stood up and started pacing the carpet. "There must be some connecting link in there somewhere. What was it exactly that the instructions said - what's a treasure to me might not be a treasure to you, right?" She closed her eyes and trailed off, lost in thought ...**************** chapter 25 (Skylar) "Where's Mason?" Dee asked suddenly. "Has anybody seen him?" "Not since before the game began," Joey realized. "Is it possible he's the man in black?" I asked. "Wasn't Mason taller than that?" Dee frowned thoughtfully. "I could have sworn he was actually much taller than that guy." "We didn't get that good a look at him, though," Joey said. "Nobody did. He's masked, remember?" Marie laughed nervously. "Hey, wait a minute! Did any of us actually see Mr. Pinley leave?" She was dancing around in graceful little circles over by the bookshelves. "Who's Mr. Pinley?" Joey asked. "Our uncle's creepy lawyer. He met us here yesterday evening," Jane filled him in. "I think he left just before you got here - or pretended to, anyway. Marie, what are you dancing around like that for?" "What kind of silly question is that? I feel like it," Marie retorted irritably. "Anyway, if I don't keep moving I'll probably fall asleep." "Hey, I've got a silly question for you, Marie - do you really take belly dancing?" Ben smiled innocently at her as she let out a screech of fury. "JANE!!!! You weren't supposed to tell anybody that!" Lucia made a sound like a cross between a yelp and a snort and stood up, pointing at Marie. "You take belly dancing? You won't even wear a shirt that doesn't reach your jeans and you take belly dancing?" "What I do for exercise is none of your business," Marie huffed furiously. "Seriously, what do you wear to that class? Can you sign Jane up? Can I watch?" Ben tried to duck out of the way too late as Jane smacked him in the head. "Quit it, moron," Jane scolded. Ben caught Josh's eye and started to say something else but Jane stopped him. "Josh and Marie already look like the world's first human tomatoes. Give it a rest," she told him firmly. Marie groaned from across the room where she was now sitting behind the sofas, just out of view. Josh was leaning against a table, looking as though he wished he were anywhere but in that room with us. There was a momentary pause while everyone tried to pull themselves together. "Nobody knows the trouble I've seen," I heard Marie sing softly. "Nobody knows my sorrows." Everyone started giggling as she stood up from behind the couch - even Josh, who still wouldn't look at anybody. "Come back, Marie. We promise not to torment you anymore," Jane called to her. "Well ..." I could see Marie peeking over the top of the sofa pillows and trying not to grin. I knew why Jane had been teasing and pushing her so much. Marie tended to be on the shy side with guys she really liked. Jane was well aware that if she pushed enough, Marie would break out of the shell she'd been in since Josh had joined us and let loose with the crazy sense of humor our family was generally known for. We'd talked about it before, and our theory was that if a romance was meant to be, then the guy in question would love us no matter how loopy our behavior could be - within reason, that is. I could tell by Marie's expression that Jane had finally achieved her goal. With a flourish, Marie held up her arms and did a little hip gyration. "Lucky I was born so far away so/we could both make fun of distance -" she sang as we all started cheering. "Lucky that... um - Okay, right, so - wherever, whenever, we're meant to be together/I'll be there and you'll be near/and that's the deal, my dear," she half- sang, half-danced and then took a little bow, laughing the whole time. I couldn't help noticing that Josh had turned around to watch so quickly that he nearly slid off the table he was leaning against. I poked Lance and pointed in Josh's direction and then nodded slightly at Marie. Lance and I shared a private smile and he put his arm around me. "I told you she was good," Jane said happily as Marie joined us. "That's enough performing from me for one night. I believe we were trying to figure out what we've all inherited and also who might be trying to kill us?" Marie sat demurely on the desk next to Ben, her hands folded in her lap and an innocent expression pasted on her face. "Mr. Pinley may very well be the man in black. He's the right height." "You're just saying that because he was so obviously interested in you," Ben told her, grinning. "What?" This time Josh did fall off the table. "How do you know that?" "Oh, it was just the way he followed Marie around at the reading of the will - and when he wasn't following her, he was staring at her," Jane remembered. "Oh, really?" Suddenly Josh was at Marie's elbow. "Ew. Every time I turned around he was there, leering at me. Plus, he has that soft, creepy little voice ..." Marie shuddered. "When we got here yesterday, he wouldn't let go of my hand. No matter how hard I tried to hide behind Ben I couldn't seem to shake him." "Well, Mr. Pinley would know the state of Uncle Marlon's affairs, since he was the lawyer - he would know how much Uncle Marlon had to leave. If I were going to suspect anybody, it would be him," I decided. "What if he's got some kind of psycho obsession with Marie?" Lance wondered. "Don't say things like that!" Marie wailed. "You'll give me nightmares." She turned to say something to Josh and found herself almost nose-to-nose with him. "Sweet bird of youth, what are sitting so close to me for?!" Jeff snickered and Ben started to laugh, but Josh ignored them both. He shrugged off Marie's exclamation and stayed where he was, a slight scowl on his face ...****************** chapter 26 (Jane) "Right. Well, now that half-time is over, we've figured out that Uncle Marlon is a completely obsessed movie fanatic. Another thing I should have mentioned earlier is that Ben and I found some of Uncle Marlon's personal papers. It seems that the majority of those movie props you all have found were purchased within the last six months to a year, and mostly at auctions or through movie memorabilia places. Uncle Marlon spent a small fortune on all those things," I announced, having decided it was time to get back to business. "It's a shame he couldn't enjoy them," Dee said. "He buys all the things he loves and then he dies shortly after that. That's so sad!" Marie had a funny look on her face. "What if that's why he bought the things he did?" "What do you mean?" Carla asked. "What if he knew he was dying and he bought all those things because he'd always wanted them and there was no point now in not having them?" "That's an idea," Ben considered the thought. "Maybe it was his last hurrah." "Do you suppose he did all this because he married an actress?" Skylar asked. "He could have married an actress as part of his movie obsession," Lance volunteered. "I wonder if Uncle Marlon wanted to be an actor?" I thought aloud. "Even his name, Marlon, is the name of one of the most famous actors in the world." "But I don't get how everything ties in." Dee stood up and walked to the window. "Who was Evi Stomar? Why do we have to find out who killed her? Why come to this house and play this game?" "Why do the lights keep going out? Where is Mason? Where is the man in black? WHO is the man in black?" Lance picked up when Dee stopped for air. While we'd been thinking aloud, Marie had been wandering around the room, looking at the shelves. She pulled one of the books off the shelf and started leafing it through it with a frown. Josh waited a few moments before going over to her and the two of them stood talking quietly. I hoped Ben wouldn't notice; they looked more comfortable than they had been since the start of our little family "adventure." "How much time do we have left before dawn?" Joey interrupted everyone's brainstorming. Ben looked at his watch. "About two hours." "It feels like we've been here so much longer," Dee groaned. "I'm getting so sleepy." "Tell me about it. Paul and I were ready to go back to our rooms and take a nap but we knew it wasn't fair to leave you guys doing all the work," Lucia leaned back against her boyfriend and closed her eyes. "We've got it!" We all turned around to look at Josh and Marie, who were holding a large book between them and looking very excited. "What have you got? Did you find a clue?" I asked. "I think so. Look at this," Marie hurried to the middle of the room with Josh following her. We all crouched around as she held out the book they'd been looking at. "Movie Stars of the 30's and 40's," Jeff read aloud. "Is that the link? All the movies involved in the game were from the 30's and 40's?" "That's impossible. The wax museum had figures of Robert DiNiro and JarJar Binks," Paul said. "No, that's not what we were thinking," Marie said. "Look at the first two words in the title." "Movie Stars," I read again. "So? We know Uncle Marlon loved movie stars. That much was obvious." "Move the letters around and see what you come up with," Josh said impatiently. "Oh, I suck at word games," Skylar groaned. "Get some paper or something," Josh demanded. Ben handed him a pad and pencil from the desk and Josh scribbled the letters from the words 'movie stars' on the paper. "Now subtract a letter," he said as he crossed out one of the s's. "What do you have?" "Movie star," I said aloud. "Right -" Josh scribbled again on the paper. "Now move the letters around -" He held the pad up so we could all see it. "I don't believe it. It's so obvious," I gasped. We stared at the words written on the pad. Jeff read it aloud although we could all see it. "Change the letters around and 'movie star' becomes 'Evi Stomar'."************* chapter 27 (Lucia) "Is that a coincidence or is that the answer to the mystery?" Skylar looked confused. "I think it's part of the answer," Marie said. "After all, what kind of weird name is Evi Stomar anyway? It's got to be a clue!" "But what does it mean?" I demanded. "I just don't get it." "None of this makes any sense. We've been at this all night and we have no idea what we're doing," Ben stood up and kicked the desk in frustration. We were all feeling pretty gloomy at that point. After reflecting for a moment, I stood up. "You know what we need? A snack. Why don't we get something from the kitchen and then continue this when we're feeling a bit more refreshed?" "That's the best idea I've heard all night," Jeff jumped up and Joey was close behind him. "How about a bunch of us go get a tray of whatever we can find and bring it back here?" I suggested. "Sounds fine," Jane was using the desk to stretch her back. Everyone was standing up and moving around to wake themselves up. Jeff, Joey, Dee, Paul and I headed for the kitchen. It took us no time at all to make some sandwhiches. Joey grabbed a bottle of wine and several glasses to go with them and Dee carried some water and fruit, all of which we took back to the library. We all felt better after having eaten, and the wine was relaxing. I didn't have too much, considering that I was already pretty tired and wine tends to make me sleepy. After we'd finished, I felt much more like myself, although I still needed a good night's rest. "Well, now that that's done, where do we go from here?" Ben swallowed the last of his glass of water and called us to attention again. "We have to figure out where all our keys go," Jane said. "Here's what I think: the note Dee found said that all of us needed to help each other, right? And she found two extra keys. My guess is that either we all need to be together to find the so-called 'treasure' - or else all of our keys are going to fit in one place." "And we need to catch the man in black," Josh added. "That's not necessary," a voice behind us said. "Oh no," Marie cried softly. The man in black was there in the room with us, standing by a row of shelves that had actually hidden yet another secret door. None of us had heard him come in - and now the gun was pointed right at us.*************** chapter 28 (Dee) "Nobody move," the man in black commanded. Suddenly everybody moved at once - Ben stood in front of Jane, Joey stood up, Josh put his arm around Marie, Lance pushed Skylar behind him, Carla moved closer to Jeff, and Jeff did a bizarre, spontaenous little dance. "I said 'nobody move'!" the man in black repeated. "Whoa. Did anyone else actually get that right?" Paul looked around - he and Lucia were the only ones who'd actually remained still. "What was that dance about?" Carla looked Jeff up and down. "I'm sorry. I just got caught up in the moment," Jeff apologized with a nervous little giggle. "You had wine, didn't you," Carla said knowingly. "I might have had a sip," Jeff giggled again. The man in black advanced on us and Jeff quickly sobered up. "Who are you and what do you want?" Ben demanded. "Ben, is there a reason you're standing in front of me?" Jane interrupted in a voice edged with irritation. "I'm being protective, babe," Ben explained. "Well now I can't see! Move your big butt," Jane shoved him out of the way. "My big butt?" Ben repeated in disbelief. "Move my big butt?! Here I am trying to protect my family, my wife, the future mother of my children, and all you can do is whine about my so-called big butt? I - I'm -" Ben spluttered furiously. "All of you shut up!" The man in black came towards us threateningly. "Do exactly as I say and nobody gets hurt." "What, you haven't figured out yet that we're not exactly good at following orders?" Ben snapped back. "It's just you and one gun. We outnumber you. You can't shoot all of us!" Joey said bravely. "I don't like those odds," I quickly grabbed his arm to keep him from getting any closer to the masked man. The man with the gun waved us in the direction of the couch. When we were all either seated on or around it, he called, "Get in here and help me," to someone outside. The door opened and for the first time I was really afraid. Another man entered the room, but he wasn't masked. He held a ring of keys in one hand and a gun in the other. We all gasped when we saw who it was...**************** chapter 29 (Marie) "Mason," I whispered. "We should have seen it coming," Lance said furiously. "That explains our little lighting problem." "I'm sorry that things have to be this way, ladies and gentlemen, but unfortunately ..." Mason didn't bother to finish his sentence. "Why are you doing this?" Skylar asked. "Your uncle was a cheapskate and a miser," the masked man told us. "After years of faithful service, neither of us was even mentioned in his will. All he left for us was some instructions for his spoiled little heirs to play some silly 'game' to find a hidden treasure. Well, we earned that so-called treasure." "We didn't even figure out the game," Ben groaned. "It was probably a wild goose chase." "Why did you come after us?" I asked. "I thought you'd figure out where your Uncle Marlon had hidden the treasure and lead us to it," the man in black answered. I shuddered as I listened to his voice and realized our suspicions about his identity had been correct. "So you pretended to leave and instead sneaked back into the house - or rather, Mason let you in - and waited for us to start searching. That's right, isn't it, Mr. Pinley?" Mr. Pinley removed his mask, revealing the familiar intense blue eyes and almost translucent, pale skin on his skull-like face. I stepped back involuntarily; somehow he was more frightening without the mask. "If you all had been smart enough to do that you'd be in a lot less trouble now," Mr Pinley said without taking his gaze off me. "We would have just locked you up somewhere and taken off with the treasure, and no one would have gotten hurt." "You can still take anything you want and we can keep everyone from getting hurt," Ben told him. "We'll see, won't we," Mr. Pinley finally looked away from me and I found I could breathe again. "I think we should just lock them up and search on our own. They can't do anything about it. If we don't find anything we'll just leave," Mason said. "I don't want to be responsible for any unnecessary deaths and you know it, Pinley." "All the same, we need a guarantee that they're not going to try and stop us until we're safely away from here," Pinley was looking at me again and I held on to Josh as if I had just been stranded in the middle of the ocean and he was the only lifeboat. "I have the perfect solution to that problem." He waved the gun at me. "Marie, you'll be joining us." "No!" Josh and Jane cried simultaneously. "I'm agree with them!" I wailed. "I don't want to go with you!" "She's not going anywhere," Josh was holding me too tightly and it was cutting off my air supply. "That's real sweet, hon, but I still need to breathe," I squeaked and he loosened his hold slightly. "Take me instead," Dee suddenly volunteered. "No!" Joey and I both yelled. "Is there any way we can work something out?" Ben asked. "Maybe we could draw straws or play 'eenie meanie minie moe,' or something like that." "This is ridiculous," Mason snapped. "Pinley, take the girl and let's go already." I felt Josh tensing for a fight but as Mr. Pinley held up the gun I knew it was no use. As much as the thought of being alone with the little creep scared me, I reminded myself that I'd defended myself once and I could do it again. I gently disentangled myself from Josh's grip and tried to be brave - at least, on the outside. "I don't know what you expect to accomplish but you're not getting away with any of this," I said with my chin lifted. At the very least I was determined to maintain my dignity. "Guess again," Mr. Pinley smiled horribly and suddenly Mason grabbed me. I heard my cousins shriek in horror as something sharp pierced my arm. "I am SO going to kill you," I heard Jane roaring furiously. "What did you just do to her?" "She'll be a lot more cooperative this way," Mason told her, keeping the gun aimed at my head. I saw a hypodermic syringe drop to the floor and saw the looks on everyone else's faces. I suddenly felt very dizzy and I almost fell but Mason held me steady ...**************** chapter 30 (Jane) It was all I could do to keep from attacking Mason and Pinley, gun or no gun. But as angry as he was, Ben was trying to be reasonable. He was holding me back from doing anything foolish. "I swear if you hurt her -" I started to snarl but I stopped when Marie suddenly chuckled. "We've only just begun..." she started to sing. "Why are you singing?" Mr. Pinley was clearly confused. "I don't know. I just feel like it," Marie giggled for no particular reason. "The world is a beautiful place, you guys." Josh looked totally bewildered. "What is so great about being held at gunpoint?" "Don't be such a party pooper. Let's all sing! 'Songs that made the hit parade'..." Marie launched into a rendition of the theme song from "All in the Family" and it suddenly dawned on me what was going on. "Uh oh. Marie, did you have more than one glass of wine?" I asked apprehensively. "I most certainly did not. I mean, I did. Have a glass of wine. Or two. Or something," Marie looked confused. She poked Pinley in the ribs. "Come on, Funny Face! Sing along or leave the party!" "What did you give her?" Pinley snapped at Mason. "Just the sedative you told me to give her!" Mason defended himself. "Good going, guys. It's interacting with the wine," I told them and in spite of the seriousness of the situation I still couldn't suppress a snicker. "Well, I was stressed," Marie complained. "Of course I had some WINE. It's been a long and trying evening. I fought a guy with a gun! How many of YOU can say that?" She stood up indignantly and nearly fell over. "Anyway, I'm not as think as you drunk I am!" She took a good look at Mr. Pinley and her eyes crossed. "Whooo, boy, don't tell me HE'S my date for the evening! Where's the cute one?" Marie spotted Josh and a goofy grin came over her face. "There's the guy I came in with! I knew my taste couldn't be that bad." "Let's get them downstairs," Pinley ordered Mason in a futile attempt to regain control of his hostage, who was now cheerfully examining the carpet. "We'll take her with us as soon as they're out of the way." "I don't want to go with you," Marie stood up again and stood nose-to-nose with Pinley. "You're scary and bony. I want go with him," Marie indicated Josh. "He's tall and dark and tall and gorgeous and tall and hot and tall. You're short," she told Pinley. "He'll be dead if you don't shut up," Pinley snapped. "Oh, dear. That would make dating difficult," Marie sighed. "Is she going to be like this for a while?" Mason asked irritably. "What's it to you?" Marie wobbled over to Mason. "Shouldn't you be off somewhere butling?" "She'll be like this until either the wine or the sedative wears off," Pinley dragged Marie along with him. "You imbecile," I couldn't resist telling him. "You got her high!" "Shut up," Pinley told me. "We'll lock them in the dungeon," he said to Mason. "But first, I'll stash her somewhere." He was already hauling Marie out the door. Josh's expression was almost tragic. "Where are you taking her?" he demanded but Mr. Pinley ignored him. "Hey, wanna see my Shakira imitation?" I heard Marie saying as the door closed behind them ...************* chapter 31 (Carla) Mason held us all at gun point until Mr. Pinley returned. "What did you do with Marie?" I asked pleadingly. "She's safe for the time being. As long as you cooperate she won't get hurt." Mr. Pinley waved us all in the direction of the door and we had no choice but to obey him. "We'll take them to the dungeon," Pinley said to Mason as they marched us to the kitchen. We were forced back through the hidden passage in the kitchen closet and down stairs, through another passage, and taken to a hallway with a row of doors on either side. "Not this again," Josh groaned. "Where are we?" Paul asked. "Remember the part he said about a dungeon?" Josh snapped. "Sheesh, don't get an attitude about it. I was only asking," Paul looked insulted. "That's enough," Mr. Pinley hissed. He grabbed Skylar by the wrist and tried to drag her towards one of the cells but she shrieked and slapped him. "You keep your hands off me, you bony little man," she said furiously. "I don't have to take this! Lance, do something!" "He has a gun," Lance patiently reminded her. "Right! Never mind!" Mason collected all of our keys and then began shoving us into one of the cells. He worked frighteningly quickly - in no time the guys were chained to the walls by their wrists and all of us girls were bound hand and foot with duct tape. "Should we gag them?" Mason asked Pinley. Mr. Pinley laughed unpleasantly. "Why bother? Who's going to hear them if they scream?" They were both laughing as they slammed the door of the cell closed without bothering to lock it. There was a long pause while nobody said anything. Jane had been looking around warily. Finally she said, "Is anyone else feeling a little bit tense right now? I'm just wondering, you know, because I think we should talk when moments like these come up." "The only one who's had any experience with this is Josh," Jeff said. "Josh, the floor is yours. Any comments - perhaps you could tell us if being chained to a wall is better than being taped to a chair?" "Don't speak to me," Josh would have turned his back but the chains prevented it; instead he twisted around and ended up looking into Ben's ear. "Stop looking in my ear," Ben told him. "I hate that." "I don't care about your ear," Josh snapped back. "I care about getting out of here alive. I care about finding Marie and getting HER out of here alive. I care about never going anywhere with any of you people again. But I definitely do NOT care about your ear!" "Both of you shut up!" I wailed. "I want to go home!" "That's not helpful," Jane scolded me and soon we were all yelling at each other. "QUIET!" Jeff surprised us all into silence. "Listen," he commanded. "What -" I started to say and then stopped when I realized I heard voices - it was Marie and Mr. Pinley, and they were somewhere nearby. "What's he doing to her?" Lucia whispered. "I really, really, really, REALLY don't think I want to go out with you, much less marry you," Marie was saying. "Huh? Is he trying to get her to marry him?" Paul wondered. "It won't happen," Josh pulled uselessly on the chains. "I mean, I might be thunk, but I'm not thunk enough to marry you, Bat Face!" Marie continued. "You're not making any sense," we heard Pinley snap at her. "WELLLLL I didn't ask you did I! My tongue feels weird ... I'm not even sure it's mine! So there!" "My god. She's a raving loon!" Ben groaned. "Where are you taking me? And what did you do to Josh this time? You better stop tying him up! I really hate it when you do that!" we heard Marie say. "It's not cute. You barely know each other!" "I'm taking you to a very special room, my dear. It's the Phantom room - that was my touch, you know, when your uncle was setting up this little game. Little did he know ..." Mr. Pinley paused to chuckle to himself and then went on, "... and little did I know I would find my Christine!" "You're kidding! Where?" They were very close by us now; it sounded as if they were just down the hall. There was a silence as it apparently dawned on Marie who Mr. Pinley was talking about. "EWWWWWWWWWW," she said in obvious disgust. "That is a completely gruesome thought! Wait - if I'm Christine, I get to sing! Yes!" she took a breath and launched into her own version of "All I Ask of You," from "Phantom of the Opera." I thought I heard Mr. Pinley groan and then the voices went on down the corridor and faded away. "He really is obsessed with her," I said softly and for the first time I was genuinely worried. "What are we going to do?" "We're going to find Marie, get the heck out of this house, and get the police," Jane announced. "I refuse to have that little toad as a cousin-in-law! This is war!" She moved next to me and turned around so that I could reach the pocket of her jeans. "Carla, I have a little swiss army knife in my pocket. Grab it, will you?" I manuevered around until I could reach it and pull it out. "Yippee," Jane said flatly. "Now let's get ourselves out of this..."************* chapter 32 (Marie) I woke up in a dark room, feeling completely lost. My vision was blurry at first, but as I managed to sit up, I realized I wasn't alone. There was someone sitting nearby, playing an organ - he was wearing a white mask and I was wearing a white dress ... he turned to me and I saw a skull-like face leering at me ... I woke with a start. At first I was convinced that everything that had happened was a dream, but as I came to my senses, I knew it was real. I was lying on a long, velvet chair - a fainting couch, I think they're called - and I was indeed wearing the white dress. I had a vague memory of putting it on. I couldn't really remember anything that had happened after Mr. Pinley had drugged me, although I did have a strange urge to sing something. I tried to sit up but quickly discovered that I couldn't move. I had a sudden flash of sympathy for what Josh had gone through. I tried to scream but found I couldn't make a sound. Mr. Pinley was certainly no slouch with the duct tape, I thought ruefully. I started looking around for some way to get myself free, but there was nothing at hand. Even if I could have stood up and walked around - an impossibility with my ankles bound - there didn't seem to be anything available that I could use to cut myself loose. I was torn between wishing I could kick something out of frustration and wishing that Josh would suddenly come bursting in and rescue me - a thought that caused me no end of embarrassment, considering that I am a proudly independent woman who can take perfectly good care of herself, thank you very much. "All the same," a little voice inside my head told me, "it wouldn't hurt ... after all he IS hot..." "No," I told the voice firmly, "I can do this! I don't need any help. I can get myself out of this and find my family and friends. Or they can find me. Everything is going to be okay." "Maybe so," the voice insisted, "but wouldn't it be kind of sexy to be rescued by a hot guy -" "YOU SHUT UP," I mentally interrupted it. "Oh my lord, I'm arguing with myself. I really AM a raving loon!" The footsteps coming down the hallway interrupted my thoughts. I considered playing dead but gave up the idea as the door suddenly swung open. I tried to suppress the wave of revulsion that came over me as Mr. Pinley skulked into the room. "You're awake," he flashed something that, for him, must have been a grin. "How do you feel? Oh, that's right -" he reached over and pulled the tape off my mouth. "THAT HURT," I shrieked at him. "How do I feel? How do I FEEL? What kind of a stupid question is that? Untie me and I'll SHOW YOU HOW I FEEL!" I struggled up to a sitting position. "What have you done with my family?" "They're not going anywhere," Mr. Pinley said with some satisfaction. He sat down at the end of the couch and I pulled away quickly. He was playing with something in his hands. As he leaned towards me I saw it was a white mask. "It seems your uncle lied about having any treasure," Mr. Pinley told me. "We've been all over this house with all those keys and there's nothing here. But that's all right. Some treasures don't have monetary value." He studied me appraisingly and I felt a sudden chill. "Ye-eeah," I said slowly. "So? What are you going to do now?" "Well, I think the best thing to do now is to leave while we still can. In the morning, we'll call the police and have them find the others, no harm done. I've already called the airlines and we can be on the next plane to Paris." "You guys have a great time," I told him with some relief, although I would have felt a lot better if he hadn't been sitting so close to me. "Drop us a postcard anytime." From jail, I told myself with relish. "You've misunderstood me," he said softly, standing up and moving in front of me. "You're coming with us." I was too shocked to say anything and when I did try it came out backwards. "Come with you go no way!" I screeched. "I mean - I'm not going anywhere with you!" "You don't have a choice. We'll have a wonderful life together, Christine -" "First, don't call me Christine. You've seen 'Phantom' too many times. Second, I certainly do have a choice and we're not having a life together. I wouldn't marry you if you were the last man on earth. In fact, if you were the last man on earth and I were the last woman then it would be the end of the human race. And even if you did manage to drag me to the altar, I wouldn't say I do! I'd say I don't! I'd say I'll never! I'd say forget it, stick it in your ear, not in this lifetime, not in this century or this dimension -" Before I could move away, he'd replaced the tape over my mouth. "Now I remember why I put that on," he said with a little smile. "You'll like Paris, Christine. It's the home of the original Opera house - and a very romantic city." He pushed me back down on the couch. "You'd better get some rest until we're ready to leave. It's going to be a long trip." With that he stalked out of the room and closed the door. I heard the key turn in the lock and frantically tried to get my hands free but it was useless. I wanted to cry. I was totally helpless and at the mercy of a freak who wanted to live out his "Phantom" fantasy. "I give in," I told myself. "If I never get another wish again, I would really like someone to break in here and get me out of this!" But it seemed completely hopeless ...************* chapter 41 (Dee) "Yes!" I smiled triumphantly as the chains fell off Joey's wrists and he hugged me. For the last half hour we'd all been working to get the guys free. After Carla had managed to get Jane's knife, they'd cut themselves loose in no time and then helped the rest of us. The problem was in getting the guys out of their chains - because Mr. Pinley had taken the key. But a Swiss Army Knife is a remarkable thing, and fortunately one of the little gadgets attached proved to be just the thing for picking the locks. "Should we split up and try to find Pinley and Mason or what?" Joey asked. "We've got to find a way of overpowering them without anyone getting hurt," Jane said with determination. "But first we'd better find Marie." "He said he was taking her to the 'Phantom' room," Josh said anxiously. "Where is it?" "That must be the room Joey and I found!" I remembered. "That's where we found the extra keys. There was an organ and a white mask and even a white dress just like Christine wears ..." I trailed off. "Uh oh. I have a bad feeling about this." "We're finding her NOW," Josh opened the cell door and looked up and down the hall cautiously. "There's nobody here. Come on!" "Be careful," Jane reminded him and we all slipped out behind Josh and headed down the hallway. "You'd better let Dee and Joey lead. They know where they're going." "This way," Joey and I made our way to the front of the group and we hurried quickly and quietly down the hall and around the corner. Joey suddenly scared the life out of me by grabbing my arm. "Wait!" he hissed in a whisper. "Someone's coming!" We all dived back down the hall, ran in circles and crashed into each other looking for places to hide, and finally ended up in the medieval room, which was fortunately empty. Paul opened the door a crack and we tried to watch what was happening. After a tense few moments of waiting, Josh, who was crouched right by the door, motioned us to be quiet and we watched in horror as Mr. Pinley appeared with Mason - both of them carrying a struggling Marie ...************ chapter 42 (Marie) I was almost positive that things couldn't possibly get worse, when Mr. Pinley came back into the room with Mason. "We'll take her to the boat and take her back upstairs. The car is waiting," Mason said. The next thing I knew, Mr. Pinley had blindfolded me and the two of them were carrying me. I was furious and did my best to make things difficult for them, but there wasn't much I could do. I vowed that as soon as I had the opportunity, I was going to beat them both into a coma. Then I decided that that was too violent a fantasy, even given the circumstances, so I changed it to whacking them both senseless. "What about the rest of them?" Mason asked Pinley. "We'll call the police to come and let them out as soon as we're safely in Paris." "I still don't understand why you're insisting on Paris. Remember, we're going to have to lay low for a while. And it's not going to be easy hiding her," Mason indicated me. "She'll learn to behave herself," Pinley said and I decided that the fantasy of beating him into a coma wasn't too violent after all. I felt them lowering me into the boat and I tried to kick one of them, but they held me securely. I wished I could think of something to get myself out of my predicament, but I felt like a hamster on a wheel - going around and around and getting nowhere fast. Things looked absolutely grim when suddenly I heard yelling. "Look out!" Mason shouted and the next thing I knew I heard my cousins' voices and the sounds of fighting. "Get him!" I heard Joey say and then a gun went off and someone screamed. "It's okay, nobody's hurt," Paul cried. "Get the gun!" "Be careful - the boat!" There was a thud and a crash and suddenly I was in the water ...************ chapter 43 (Lucia) We followed from a short distance as Mason and Pinley carried Marie to the boat. As soon as they had put her safely down, we attacked. Paul, Joey and Jeff went after Pinley, while Ben, Josh and Jane went after Mason. I wanted to help Marie but couldn't reach her at first. Pinley dropped his gun and it went off, scaring all of us and giving him a chance to break free. Paul went after him and lost his balance, falling into the water and knocking the boat so hard that it rocked and somehow knocked Marie overboard. "She'll drown!" I cried. Josh pushed everyone out of the way and jumped in the water. A moment later, he had dragged Marie to safety. The others managed to restrain both Pinley and Mason as Josh removed the blindfold and gag and freed her wrists and ankles. "Are you okay?" Josh asked her gently. Marie looked at all of us for a long moment. "This is so humiliating," she finally wailed and we all burst out laughing. "I'm serious," she went on miserably. "I get kidnapped by a psychopath, I'm wearing this stupid dress, I'm wet, I had to be rescued - there's only one way to make this redeemable." "What's that?" Josh asked - and then Marie wrapped both arms around his neck and kissed him. There was some clapping and cheering as she gently released him - not that he was putting up a fight. "Now I feel better," she said with a grin. "How do you feel, Josh?" Jane asked. "Uh huh," was all Josh said in reply. "Are you sure you feel ALL better, Marie? Because you've been through a lot tonight," Ben said, his arm around Jane. "We need to get you out of that wet dress," Josh said and then turned bright red. "Get a room!" Jeff called. We were all laughing as we hauled Mason and Pinley back up the stairs and made sure they didn't go anywhere as Dee called the police. "Tape THIS," I told Pinley as we made use of it to give him a taste of his own medicine and make sure he didn't go anywhere. "You'll regret this, Christine," he hissed at Marie. "I'll find you, wherever you go -" he broke off as she taped his mouth. "Now I remember why you needed that," she told him and then, mimicking a character from the TV show "The Simpsons" said, "Ha ha!"*********** Hours later, the police had arrived, Mr. Pinley and Mason had been arrested, and Marie had changed into an extra pair of sweats and a t-shirt that Carla had brought along. We found ourselves exhausted, hungry and confused. "I guess we should pack up and get out of here," Ben was stretched out on a sofa in the library and Jane was stretched out next to him. "But I hate to even get up." "We never did figure out who killed Evi Stomar - or movie star, or whatever that was about," I realized. "Do we even know what we inherited?" Skylar asked. "I guess the house and all this stuff," Jane waved a hand in a vague gesture. "I suppose it can all be auctioned off. But it seems like such a shame after all Uncle Marlon's hard work." "What do you suppose the treasure was? What could he have meant?" Marie said sleepily from where she and Josh were curled up together. "By the way, you smell really good," she told Josh, who for once didn't blush. He just grinned and held her a little closer. "Marie says strange things when she's tired," Jane explained to Josh. "Or drunk. Or drugged. Or drunk and drugged. But after you two have had nine or ten kids together you'll have come to love that about her." "Shut up," Marie told her. "I'm not having nine or ten kids with anyone." "Yeah - we were thinking we'd start by having coffee together and see where this goes from there," Josh said. "Right, Marie?" "Mm-hmm," Marie snuggled against his shoulder and dozed off. "'What's a treasure to you may not be a treasure to me,'" I quoted thoughtfully, losing interest in the Josh-Marie saga. "Well, one thing we learned was that Uncle Marlon had a love of movies. Maybe all that movie memorabilia and stuff was his idea of a treasure." "That seems the most reasonable explanation. But it doesn't tell us anything about Evi," Jane sighed. "I hate to leave without knowing exactly what it was we were supposed to accomplish. I wish we could have met Uncle Marlon just once!" "You still can," someone said behind us and for what seemed like the umpteeth time we turned to find a stranger in the room with us ...************* chapter 44 (Jane) There was a small, bearded elderly gentleman standing by the same hidden passage Mr. Pinley had used earlier to surprise us. But this man wasn't holding a gun - and I had a strange feeling I knew who he was. "Uncle Marlon?" I asked tentatively. "At your service." He gave a little bow and smiled at us. "What a pleasure it is to see so many of my family members in the same room together!" "YOU are Great Uncle Marlon?" Ben gawked at him. "But you're dead!" "Correction - I pretended to be dead!" Great Uncle Marlon smiled proudly. "I apologize for the deception, but it was necessary for the game." "No offense, but - what the hell were you thinking?" Lucia demanded to know. "You almost got us killed tonight! Marie was abducted by a maniac, we were all chained up in your dungeon - I want to know why!" Uncle Marlon's expression grew serious. "That wasn't supposed to happen," he said gently. "I never had any intention of putting any of you in danger. It was all the fault of that villainous Pinley working with my former butler, Mason. It was like this," he sat down at the chair behind his desk and we all turned to face him, "I hadn't seen any of you in years. After my wife died, I went into a sort of seclusion, you see. I've been living in this house all alone for so long, watching old movies and dreaming of what life used to be like - I had forgotten how to interact with people and the real world. So I thought, what better way to get reacquainted with my family than this? It was supposed to excite your imaginations, be an adventure you'd never forget - and at the end, your old Uncle Marlon would make a surprise appearance and we'd all have a happy reunion." He sighed regretfully. "I hadn't counted on the two people I'd trusted for years betraying me." "How on earth did you fake your death?" Josh had gently nudged Marie awake and she was sitting up and listening, wide-eyed, with the rest of us. "Did any of you ever read a book called 'The Westing Game'?" Uncle Marlon asked. "I did," Marie said and Carla nodded. "It was about a man who - oh! who fakes his death and invites all his heirs to figure out a mystery game to win an inheritance!" "That's right," Uncle Marlon grinned at her companionably. "Do you remember how he pretended to be dead?" "Yes - he put a wax dummy in his bed and set it up to look as though he'd died in his sleep - and the coroner was in on the plot, I think, wasn't he?" "That's right. The county coroner is a dear old friend of mine. In fact, he's my brother-in-law. He'll be very surprised to hear how things turned out. At any rate," Uncle Marlon went on, "that's how I did it. And I made up my own game, hoping that all of you would find my 'treasure.'" "But we didn't find a treasure. I mean, it was fun going all over the house and everything, and you have some interesting stuff, but I guess we failed, didn't we?" I asked him. "Did you?" Uncle Marlon looked at me owlishly behind his glasses. "Maybe you did and maybe you didn't. It's true that everything in this old house of mine is a treasure to me. Everything brings back memories ... memories of my wife, of the golden age of Hollywood, when movie stars WERE movie stars and people didn't rely on special effects and blowing things up on screen to make a buck. The stories counted and the acting mattered. People went to the movies to get lost in them, to see a story and believe in something," he said with a little sigh. "But anyway, my treasures are all treasures of the past. You all learned something last night, whether or not you realize it." We were quiet for a while, mulling this thought over. "Were you trying to tell us that we should make better movies?" Ben asked. "I know I can't explain things like 'Armageddon' and 'Forces of Nature', but I am trying my best, really I am." Uncle Marlon chuckled. "That's one possibility." "Well, if I learned anything, it was that I can't always rely solely on myself," Marie spoke up. "Sometimes I need help to get through a difficult situation - and it's okay for someone else to be the hero sometimes." She smiled at all of us and then smiled up at Josh, who looked smug. "I think I learned that I'd do anything rather than let someone hurt my wife or her family and our friends," Ben said thoughtfully. "I learned my husband can be goofy but gallant too," I said and everyone laughed. "I learned that maybe you shouldn't let fear get in the way of making a wonderful, important decision," Carla said softly and Jeff turned to her sharply, his eyes suddenly very bright. "Are you serious?" he asked her eagerly. "I sure am," she told him and they hugged and the rest of us got misty-eyed. We thought about it some more and realized that each of us was coming away with something - whether it was a new appreciation for family, life, or just learning to live each day to the fullest. "I suppose nearly being abducted by a maniac has given me a new perspective on what I do have, rather than what I don't," I said contemplatively and my cousins laughed. "You have found the treasure after all," Uncle Marlon finally broke in. "After all - what greater treasures are there than family, friends, and love? My lesson to you all is this - don't live in the past like I did for so many years. Never forget those you've loved, but don't stop living as a consequence." He stood up and sighed. "That's not all, though. I didn't drag you all out here just for that." He reached into his desk, pulled out a drawer, and then reached behind that. "Pinley never did think to look more closely at this desk - the scrawny old fool," he chuckled. "It's true that you kids aren't going to inherit this house just yet. But I do have something for each of you to take away with you." He reached into the hidden compartment and brought out a large steel box with a combination lock on it. He fiddled with the lock and opened it. "There's something in here for each of my heirs to take away as a souvenir of your old Uncle. For Skylar, the future bride, the string of pearls and the matching earrings that my wife wore on our wedding day. I've kept them all these years and never had a daughter to give them to, so I'd like you to have them." He handed a velvet box to Skylar, who opened it to reveal a stunning pearl set. She choked up and hugged him without being able to say a word. The rest of us hovered over her admiringly. "For Carla, who I imagine will also be a bride very soon, three rings I gave my wife as an engagement present. Emeralds and diamonds were her favorite. I have a feeling these will suit you as well." He continued, "For Dee, I have a pair of two round-trip plane tickets to anywhere in the world. Last night's adventure was mine - now you can plan your own adventure. For Lucia, the spitfire in the family -" we exchanged knowing glances and Lucia grinned - "I have no doubt that you'll accomplish anything you set your mind to. Here's my signed promise that when you've decided to start your own business, whatever that may be, I'll be there to back you up. For Marie, my fighting niece, the woman who I hear certainly didn't go down without a fight," he smiled as Marie blushed, "here's a check. I think you'll find that if you use this wisely, you can start out on any new endeavors," he looked at Josh meaningly, "without any debt to worry about." Marie gasped but Uncle Marlon went on without a break. "Finally, for my eldest niece, Jane - what to give you, Jane? You have a handsome, successful husband, and a life you love ... " Uncle Marlon studied her appraisingly for a moment. "Perhaps you'll allow me this." He held out another slip of paper and I read it aloud. "This is a promise to pay full college tuition for our first child," I read. "Uncle Marlon - you don't have to do this. Besides, we don't have any children." Uncle Marlon shrugged and smiled. "Please indulge an old man, my dear. One never knows ..." he didn't finish his sentence and I felt my own face growing hot as I wondered if he knew something I didn't. I had a funny feeling about this eccentric uncle of ours. "Wait!" Paul suddenly blurted. "We still don't know who killed Evi Stomar!" Uncle Marlon burst out laughing. "I hate to tell you this, my boy, but Evi Stomar was just a red herring. It was just a way of getting the game started." "A what?" Joey asked. "A red herring," Marie groaned. "From 'Sherlock Holmes.' There never was an Evi Stomar. It was a joke." Everyone groaned and then laughed with Uncle Marlon. We could hardly help it, even if it was the worst possible ending to the most intriguing part of the mystery. Uncle Marlon's laugh was infectious ...************** chapter 45 (Marie) There's not much else to tell about that night in Uncle Marlon's mansion. Well, I guess I should mention that Mason and Mr. Pinley did go to jail. At least, Mason did. Mr. Pinley was found mentally incompetent to stand trial and sent to a special home for the extremely unstable - to put it nicely. After all, a man who spends an entire trial insisting that he's the Phantom of the Opera probably isn't going to convince anyone that he still has all his marbles. As for the rest of us, we made Uncle Marlon a part of our lives. We took turns visiting him, and he visited us. I should say now that it turned out Uncle Marlon wasn't really 104 years old. That was just a nasty little dig on Mr. Pinley's part. In fact, Uncle Marlon wasn't a day over 80. He went on to live another five years before it really did come time for him to pass on. But not before he had the chance to meet his namesake - Benjamin Marlon Affleck - born 9 months to the day we met Uncle Marlon again. Now you know Ben and Jane became parents - but what about the rest of us? Well, Skylar and Lance had a beautiful wedding. Uncle Marlon walked Skylar down the aisle and he couldn't have been prouder. Six months after that, Jeff and Carla were married, and again Uncle Marlon was a proud guest. Dee and Joey got engaged at Jeff and Carla's reception, and soon there we were at another wedding. At all three all of us cousins got to be bridesmaids. Paul and Lucia opened a surf shop together - believe it or not, Uncle Marlon, who had never been on a surf board in his life, came to the grand opening - and then they ran off to Bali and eloped. When they came back, we had a huge party to celebrate. If you're wondering what happened to me and Josh, well ... We're still dating. Maybe in the sequel something will happen right? Now I have to run. I've been meaning to write this down for ages and now that I have I can't believe where the time went! I have to dress up tonight too. Josh keeps saying we're doing something special, and I have no clue what he means. Which reminds me - why does Jane keeping making cracks about diamonds? Does she know something I don't? THE END 


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